Still Waters
by Ellie 5192
Summary: "Tomorrow he'll be the Admiral again and she'll return to her classroom, and they won't be like this until he can get leave…" A/R one-shot, based on New Caprica. There's a bed and books and smooching.


_A fluffy little interlude that didn't quite fit with my Chasing Rainbows series. It was written around the same time, though, and I didn't want to throw it away. If you'd like to consider this as part of the Chasing Rainbows canon, that's totally your call. _

"_Tomorrow he'll be the Admiral again and she'll return to her classroom, and they won't be like this until he can get leave…"_

_**Still Waters**_

"I've got something for you" he rasps against her hair, kissing her head before throwing his arm over the side of the narrow cot. His other arm remains around her, her head resting in the crook of his shoulder, their naked bodies aligning beneath a flimsy sheet.

Digging in his overnight bag on the floor without moving away, he fishes out a paperback; one he knows she hasn't read. He settles back down and hands it to her, and she rolls onto her back, pressing herself into his side as she holds the book up for inspection. His arm shifts to allow her to rest her head on it, bent at the elbow so his hand can thread back into her hair. The sheet remains demurely around her body, tucked under her armpits, and though he doesn't doubt her self-confidence, it really is too cold for him to divest her of it.

"The Untold Sewer Boys" she reads, turning the book over to look at the back.

"I read it years ago. Don't remember it much, but I know I liked it"

"It's not going to stay very clean here you know" she says lightly, gesturing vaguely to the dusty wooden floor.

"I don't much care about that; it's yours"

"Never lend books" she recites, smiling openly at the memory.

"It's a gift" he says softly. "I won't be able to take shore-leave again for a while"

She suddenly barks out a laugh, slapping the book over her mouth at the uncontrollable giggles that bubble up. He allows himself to laugh with her, light airy chuckles that are directed more at her than at what he said. Her shoulders shake and she closes her eyes, breathing to control herself, one hand resting against her chest.

"So this is your peace offering?" she asks with mirth, waving the book in her hand. They're both still smiling.

"Consider it a consolation" he says, almost laughing again.

"To hold me through the long, lonely nights?"

They both dissolve into fits of laughter at that, because neither of them has ever been particularly clingy, nor does she expect him to suddenly be at her beck and call. Neither of them is under any illusions as to what their roles and responsibilities are, and they are both too mature to start making unreasonable demands on one another. What they have won't fade just because he hasn't shared her bed in a few weeks.

"Are you sure you'll be alright?" he asks, and though it sounds like he's mocking her- continuing their little joke- she can hear a sincerity underneath, and it makes her smile.

Tossing the book on the crate beside her cot, she rolls back into his side, her hand coming to rest on his chest as her chin sits on his shoulder. She grins at him from under the layers of her hair.

"I'll find a way to soldier on" she says lightly. His eyes soften as he looks her over, hair a tangled mess; face clear, cheeks still lightly flushed.

"After all, absence makes the heart grow fonder" she adds with mirth, running her naked calf along his leg in silent acknowledgement of how fond they really are of each other. She rests her head on his chest, huffing out one last laugh, settling deeply into his side.

He kisses her hair again in response, grinning, running his fingertips along her back. After a moment she lets out an airy hum; a sound he's come to associate with contentment and happiness. He continues his light touches, watching the lamplight flicker on the canvas above, mind blissfully blank. After a moment his eyes slip closed.

"I could get used to this" he whispers, knowing she's only dosing; knowing she'll remember the night he's thinking of.

"Mm-hmm" she hums, flexing her fingertips.

Tomorrow he'll be the Admiral again and she'll return to her classroom, and they won't be like this until he can get leave, because she's too valuable to be running off to his ship for a romantic getaway.

Tomorrow they'll wake up and touch each other slowly, savouring, before dressing and going their separate ways. And that's okay, he thinks, because right now they are still and quiet, and that runs deeper than any whirlwind love affair ever could. And if he allows himself to realise that he's falling for her, that's okay too, because he thinks it might be mutual, and that makes him smile again, his cheek resting against her hair, his fingers tracing her spine.

She sighs as she falls deeper into sleep, and he feels at peace for the first time in a long time.


End file.
